Assessment of Liquefaction Hazard and Mapping Based on Standard Penetration Tests in the Long Beach and Tuzla Regions of Cyprus

Abstract

Cyprus is the third largest and populated island in the Mediterranean Sea, and is still rapidly expanding. Significant infrastructures, such as hotels, educational institutions, and large residential complexes, are being built. Historically, 15 destructive earthquakes were reported on Cyprus from 1896 to 2019 that caused structural damages and casualties. In this study, the liquefaction potential of Tuzla and Long Beach on the east coast of Cyprus is estimated using the standard penetration test (SPT) data from more than 200 boreholes at different locations at the sites. The overall results are presented in a liquefaction potential index obtained from the factor of safety (F.S.) coefficient. Both study areas are susceptible to liquefaction. Thus, liquefaction potential maps are prepared to identify hazards in Tuzla and Long Beach. Additionally, the average factor of the safety line was introduced for both sites to create a correlation between the liquefaction area and F.S. values of every borehole. The adopted approach precisely provides the liquefiable regions when compared with historical evidence, CPT measurements, surface geology aspects, and geospatial data. Additionally, the results prove that the liquefaction potential must be considered during the design stage of new infrastructure in these areas.